In regards to Margaret Cloud's Statement - "If anyone wants
a good dog, get a true mutt that is scheduled to be killed because
some idiots did not get their dogs altered. Stop the breeders
by refusing to buy their dogs. Dogs breeders do not really care
about the dogs or the breed. They are only interested in making
money and adding to the thousands of dogs killed every day."

That is a pretty strong and, frankly, ignorant statement to make.
I breed Rat Terriers....the last thing I would ever breed for
is to "add to the thousands killed every day"....we
love our dogs and seek good homes for our puppies. I can proudly
say we have been very successful at that. I do not do it for
the money as much as for love of the breed. A good dog breeder
will strive to keep their dogs as close to the purpose for which
they were bred for in the first place. My breed of choice was
bred for controlling rodents....I strive to breed for a high
prey instinct...it is a lot of fun to watch these dogs work to
find and kill mice and rats - and it helps keep the undesirables
(rodents) in check. A good breeder of German Shorthair Pointers
for instance will strive for a dog who has the instinct to point
out the hunters prey to him and to retrieve.... A breeder of
Border Collies will strive for a dog that will move a herd of
sheep from point A to point B. I challenge you to place a mutt
of unknown origins into a herd of sheep or cattle and see what
happens...... will they make it to the new pasture or will your
herd be scattered all over the county.... not a chance I would
want to take with a herd of cattle who, in a stampede, can destroy
properties and hurt innocent bystanders. I can tell you from
experience, it is pretty amazing to watch a well bred pair of
herding dogs successfully control a herd of livestock. Some dogs
are bred to control the head (headers) and some are bred to control
the back end (heelers) - this is acheived by a good breeding
program. Try watching a retriever work to retrieve a duck. A
good retriever has a soft mouth in order to bring the duck back
undamaged to his master. Now throw a mutt into the ring, chances
are your duck will be filled with holes and probably missing
its head. My point is, a properly bred dog can be a very powerful
tool in our day to day lives.......one should not lose sight
and blindly attack those breeders who strive to honor their breeds
and enhance their abilities.

I think a lot of the purebred dogs that end up in shelters are
most likely dogs who were purchased from a pet shop on impulse
by an uneducated customer. People see and fall in love with that
cute, fluffy little puppy in the window and end up purchasing
it having no idea what the dog was bred for and it winds up not
fitting in with their lifestyle (i.e. a Border Collie in a highrise
- probably not the best idea).

I will agree with Margaret that there are far too many animals
being tossed aside in our throw away society. But.... I am willing
to bet that for every dog sitting in a shelter there are 20 more
in a loving and caring home being spoiled rotten as evidenced
by the pictures and emails I receive regularly from our puppies
new families.